


A Long Time Coming

by Asgardian_Pirate



Category: House M.D.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-22
Updated: 2012-05-22
Packaged: 2017-11-05 19:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asgardian_Pirate/pseuds/Asgardian_Pirate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long, but now I think I'm able to carry on."</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Long Time Coming

**Author's Note:**

> A short one-shot, set after the finale. Seriously, I wrote this right after watching it. I had to.
> 
> Inspired by the song "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke.

The thin cords of the patio’s hanging lanterns created a haze of dimmed light above their heads, patches of stars visible through the spaces. Faint sounds of soothing blues music filtered through the windows of the brick building behind them, and James Wilson briefly wondered at how he was able to experience this moment. No crowded hospitals, no busy city streets. No fake smiles, whispered rumors, unpaid bills, or schedules. 

Just a glass of bourbon, the warm New Orleans air filling his lungs, and his best friend.

“Where do you want to go next?” House asked, sipping at his own glass of bourbon. A light chuckle escaped Wilson’s lips as he continued to stare out into the wind swept trees, the moon casting various shadows onto the grass below them.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I don’t want to think about it right now. I’m enjoying... _this_ ,” he stated, glancing over at House. House merely nodded, his fingers twiddling against his cup, the condensation wetting his fingertips. Wilson bit the inside of his lip as he continued to stare at his friend, questions buzzing in his mind.

“What are you going to do, House?” House returned his gaze, his blue eyes calm. “After I’m...gone?”

House seemed to contemplate the question, sucking in his bottom lip. “I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it right now,” he retorted, gaining a laugh from Wilson. House’s eyes took on a gleam as a small smile played at his lips.

“Fair enough,” he acknowledged, taking a drink from his glass, the bourbon burning as it flowed down his throat. Each sensation he had encountered was counted and catalogued into his memory; details were never overlooked. He forgot when the habit began.

After he was gone...the idea never stopped being surreal. He wanted to have this conversation with House; he knew how important it was. Honestly, he was worried for House. Sure, they were enjoying what he wanted to, where he wanted to go, his last-minute dreams, the scratches on his bucket list. They were fleeting; there and then gone. Wilson was savoring and experiencing his last moments on Earth, which were filled with rather wild adventures. But that was exactly it! Days, minutes, seconds; time. Time with his best friend; the only invaluable thing he had left. And it was diminishing quicker than he had expected.     

“Change will come. It’s inevitable,” Wilson noted. House’s brow furrowed slightly as he turned his body to face him.

“What are you, a wiseman now? A prophet?” He joked. Wilson smirked, but held his gaze, his insides squirming.

“You know things will change.” It was more of a statement than a question. House’s gaze wandered down to the wooden floor of the patio before returning to Wilson. He nodded once.

“Of course they will. And I can adapt, if evolution is anything to go on.”

“House.”

House bowed his head, pursing his lips in thought. “You’re worried about me.” Wilson suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

“Of course I am.”

“Don’t.” House’s eyes were soft when he looked up again. “I’m aware that I have to change. Losing you will only be a test.”

Wilson’s heart beat unevenly for the few moments his best friend’s gaze was focused on him. He had noticed changes in House’s behavior, his mannerisms and quirks. He was still House, he was just...open. It wasn’t a big change; he wasn’t writing journals or expressing his feelings every opportunity he got. But it was enough to give Wilson the hope that he really would alright after he had...left.

“I thought you said people don’t change,” Wilson ventured, observing his response. House blinked slowly.

“I was wrong,” he replied quietly. “I think I can manage it...somehow. Without you in my life, I think I may faint from the overwhelming truth of it all,” he ended dramatically, adding an eyeroll for effect. Wilson huffed a laugh. Yeah, still House. “Things will be fine.”

“I’ll miss you,” Wilson blurted, shutting his mouth with a snap. Why did he say that? He still had four months, and damn it, if this wasn’t the wrong time to have this conversation. House was going to close up, play off any emotions that were laid out in front of him. Wilson didn’t want to ruin their time together by shoving feelings in his face, effectively making him uncomfortable and deflective, which was the opposite of what Wilson needed now.

Wilson cringed inwardly as House continued to stare at him, his face an unreadable mask. Wilson gulped down the rest of his drink as he noticed House’s hand clenching and unclenching by his side. The bottom of his jaw slid sideways, words beginning to form on his lips, but he stopped. Wilson suddenly wished he had more to drink.

“I love you.”

The words took Wilson by surprise, his eyebrows raised and his heart lurching in his rib cage. Sincerity filled House’s weathered face, and Wilson felt a warmth spread over his body. He smiled, knowing that the man before him was able to embrace the impending changes, to change _himself_ , and after all these years of fights, mishaps, emergencies, and exploits, their friendship had survived, had held _importance_ , and would continue to survive after he was gone.

“I love you, too, House.”  

It was such a simple sentence; that phrase he had asked for when he felt his world collapsing seemed so much more than an exchange of words, or even a feeling. It was a foundation; strong, dependable, tested by nearly every trial life could throw at it. Now, it would endure time.

As House refilled their cold glasses with bourbon, the mild Louisiana breeze wrapping around them, a certain peace fell over Wilson. Things would be alright; for him, for House. As Wilson smiled, House returning the gesture with a kind light in his eyes, he was certain that he wouldn’t exchange _this_...for anything.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I had to have the "I love you's". They deserved it.


End file.
